Exploring potential target drugs for vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy using the human plasma proteome: a...

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes that has the potential to progress to vision-threatening DR (VTDR) even in the absence of symptoms. Plasma proteins in response to physiological and pathological conditions in the body may be intricately connected to the initiation of VTDR.

To determine the causality between 4489 plasma proteins and the risk of VTDR to explore potential therapeutic targets for VTDR.

A Mendelian randomisation (MR) study.

A two-sample MR study was performed to investigate the causality between plasma proteins and VTDR.

Genetic information on plasma proteins and VTDR in European populations from IEU OpenGWAS.

Mediation analysis was performed to evaluate the indirect impacts of plasma proteins on VTDR via related risk variables. Furthermore, the druggability and potential role of the target proteins in VTDR were explored.

According to the MR study, 92 proteins out of 4489 plasma proteins had causal relationships with VTDR. Five potential proteins (MMP8, BST1, ARL1, MRPL33 and SDF2L1) were causally related to both VTDR and risk factors. Mediation analysis revealed that the protein-mediating effects on VTDR outcomes were achieved through risk factors (body mass index; glycated haemoglobin). Seven drugs that interacted with MMP8 were potential target drugs for VTDR.

Our investigation elucidated the causal connections between plasma proteins, risk factors and VTDR, identified MMP8 protein as a potential drug target and highlighted seven candidate drugs. These results provide a translational framework for developing novel therapies for VTDR.